Starting Tomorrow

CELEBRATE GOOD WORKS

Enjoy Ennis On The Madison

maybe win a very fine boat

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.. It's well worth punctuating the fishing season by going to the Labor Day shindig in Ennis, Montana.
.. Celebrating 10 years is a major accomplishment for the MADISON RIVER FOUNDATION.
.. This fund raiser and good time gathering is where the neighbors and friends of the Madison River will be this weekend. Good food, good speakers, good seminars, and just plain good time.
.. Help out:
==> Home Page,
==> Tomorrow's Events,
==> Join.

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We All Knew It

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The mono effect

These are headlines we, as fishing enthusiasts, do not need to see. You can click on them to read the full articles.

Fishing Lines, Deadly When Discarded, Pose Threat to Birds in City Parks

Park Birds Snagged by Fishing Line and Hooks

Carelessly discarded fishing line and hooks in Prospect Park is posing a threat to birds.

It is sad and disheartening to hear that people still leave fishing line around.

"The problem is not new — or limited to Prospect Park. Birders in other city and state parks report similar cases. The Ocean Conservancy in Washington points out that monofilament fishing line, which is made from an individual fiber of plastic, has been in use since World War II, and as the decades pass, it has accumulated in the water and on land. For a quarter-century, the conservancy has organized coastal cleanups throughout the world on a single day in September. Over that time, 1,340,114 pieces of discarded fishing line have been collected, according to the group.

“Plastics in general are the most persistent forms of marine debris,” said Nicholas Mallos, a conservation biologist with the conservancy. “Once monofilament line becomes loose in the marine environment, it poses a serious threat.”"

Please remember, do not leave fishing line in the water or on the land, dispose of it properly or recycle it. Talk to your tackle store about line recycling.

Line Recycling

Re spool and Recycle
Public response to Berkley's innovative line and spool recycling program has been remarkable. Since 1990, the Berkley Conservation Institute, with the help of anglers everywhere, has recycled more than 9 million miles worth of fishing line. That's enough line to fill two reels for every angler in America.

And it continues to grow! Retailers and marinas have provided their support by displaying over 17,000 recycling collection bins. Magazines and radio stations have provided public service announcements.

Please continue your support. Pick up discarded fishing line and recycle it by dropping it off in a recycling collection bin, or mail it directly to our collection center at:

Berkley Recycling
1900 18th Street
Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360

Recycling Resources:

Florida Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program

The Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program (MRRP) is a statewide effort in Florida to educate the public on the problems caused by monofilament line left in the environment, to encourage recycling through a network of line recycling bins and drop-off locations in Florida , and to conduct volunteer monofilament line cleanup events.

Lake Champlain (Vermont)

Montana Monofilament Recovery & Recycling

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

South Carolina Monofilament Recycling

Texas Parks & Wildlife

WildCare (San Francisco Bay Area, California)

The Bermuda Trust

FONSI

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=30504

Just Like Falling Dominoes

IT'S A SIMPLE EXAMPLE

With A Complex Result

see the ecological transformation of

flathead lake

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.. By now, it would seem, that interested and informed fly fishers are aware of the Lake Trout situation in Yellowstone Lake. They are probably aware of the rapidly vanishing native species in Yellowstone National Park, as well.
.. Sadly many of our neighbors, (guides and feather merchants as well,) have poo-pooed the need to do anything about the conservation of native species. They say, sadly: "A trout is a trout, is a trout. I just want to catch them."

Opossum Shrimp

.. Many of our influential neighbors and famous fishers have remained silent on the matter; avoiding the scoping meetings and public comment forums that the NPS has held on the current EA for the Native Fish Conservation Plan, (LINK #1, LINK #2.)
.. We read with great interest the recent article in NEW WEST. The story is about the complex interaction of species in Flathead Lake.
.. A recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details how the introduction of a small non-native crustacean, (the Opossum Shrimp - Mysis diluviana,) has totally altered the ecology of a large lake.
.. It has changed algae production, nearly eliminated Kokanee Salmon, enabled Lake Trout population explosion, and endangered the native Bull Trout.
.. The paper details a classic example of a trophic cascade that has been well documented since it's inception in 1968.

LAKE TROUT

.. The excellent summary in New West informs us that the introduction of the shrimp to were to provide food for Kokanee Salmon which were planted in the 20's. As it turns out the shrimp devoured the Kokanee's food and proliferated.
.. Their population explosion provided an abundant food source for the introduced Lake Trout and allowed the Lake Trout population to grow to the point where the Kokanee Salmon and the Bull Trout are now being eaten at a rapid clip by the Lakers.
.. Another by product of the trophic cascade is the increased growth of algae.

MONEY QUOTE:

"After the mysis explosion kokanee disappeared, bull trout declined, and lake trout came to be the dominant top predator, according to the study. This led to an increase in algal production because the shrimp ate up larger zooplankton, decreasing their levels and allowing smaller types of zooplankton to proliferate, Stanford explains. He says this changed the way the zooplankton “mow the lawn,” or consume algae: smaller zooplankton are less efficient consumers and allow algae room to grow."

.. We note that "simple" is seldom a concept that can be applied to ecological change. Both Yellowstone National Park and Flathead Lake, (as well as many other areas around the country and the world,) have suffered the consequences of actions in the past.
.. "While the future might hold unexpected outcomes, for now fisheries managers have their hands full dealing with the legacy of shrimp and a misinformed decision from the past."

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LINK

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20 Years Later

GRAYLING GETTING A CHANCE

We Had A Visitation Last Month

'bout time

Photo courtesy of Center For Biological Diversity
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.. From New West, (via Trout Underground,) we learn that the USFWS is reconsidering it's previously misguided decision about the value and precarious position of the Arctic Grayling in the lower 48.
.. We've loved this fish for years and had gone two years without a visitation until last month. Over the years we've posted a few notes about the plight of the gray ghost. Perhaps some sensibility has returned to the USFWS.
.. The status review was initiated in October of last year, (LINK,) and is ongoing today. The Center For Biological Diversity has been a key player in this long struggle. Many Montanans have also been active in the struggle because of our precious Big Hole River population. We appreciate their work.
.. Persistence has paid off and we're thankful for it. Read the finding HERE.

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Photo courtesy of Montana chapter of American Fisheries Society.

How to drive dolphins to extinction

The destructive power of human being is amazing. It is not bad enough that we over fish until a species is almost extinct, now these guys are trying to kill off a species we don't even eat.

Then these "fishermen" go on to say, "The Federation of Commercial Fishermen and a number of fishing companies challenged the restrictions, saying they would cost jobs in areas where the dolphins were never seen. The federation did not want to harm the dolphins but sought seasonal relief where jobs were under immediate threat."

What are we talking about here, 10-20 jobs. Let get real, these jobs are on their way out anyways. With the predatory fishing practices and greed these guys have already fished themselves out of a job. Time to find something else to do.








So you ask what is it that this fight is over. The first is the Hector Dolphin. "The Hector's dolphin is only found off the coast of New Zealand, which means it is endemic to New Zealand.
The Hector's dolphin is the rarest dolphin in the world - not a title to envy! "

The second is the Maui Dolphin. "Numbering around 110, the Maui's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin. Maui's dolphins are generally found along the North West coast of the North Island of New Zealand, between New Plymouth and Dargaville.

So there is only a few of these little dolphins in existence and what do people want to do to protect them, nothing. Lets just string up a big ol' net and catch them all and be done with it. You gotta love commercial fisherman and politicians. This scenario seems pretty straight forward, protect the Hector and Maui dolphins or they will be extinct. End of story. So by the response of the New Zealand High Court I guess we will just kill them all off. Nice work in the land of the long white cloud and extinct dolphins.

Let's hope some common sense and rational thinking infests their pea brains and they do the right thing.

If you are interested in helping save these dolphins take action here.

Save the Dolphins
Cheers

Garbage and all that washes up on the beach

I have yet to go fishing since I have moved. Suburbia does not allow me to keep my boat in the water in front of my house. Just one of many draw backs. That being said I have spent a fair bit of time on the beach with my dog, she still needs the exercise and I get a break.
One thing I have noticed is the huge increase of garbage on the shore line. Maybe it is because at my old place I picked up every bit of rubbish every day so it did not seem so much. This new beach that I run my dog on is absolutely littered with garbage. I am talking plastic bottles, cans, bags, VHS tapes, tires, you name it, and it is there.

I have always had an idea that the garbage on the beach is the oceans way of puking up what we humans discard into it. Unfortunately it all does not come back up. Some stays out there and collects into a giant raft. A floating waste land if you will. Some ends up killing birds and turtles. Still more ends up killing fish.

Why? Why do we as humans feel the need to completely destroy or environment? Do we not think about our actions? Or is it we just don’t give a damn? Have we as humans lost touch completely with our environment? Oh so many questions and still no answers. There are attempts at reducing and even eliminating plastic from our lives but the reality is we will just find something else to through away. I think the answer lies in education. I do not think we will ever get rid of our use and need of plastic and disposables, but we can learn to deal with it without making the environment pay for our excessive use of these byproducts.

Recycling is probably one of our best hopes at doing some good. A massive effort is needed to make a dent. Not just in the developed world but everywhere. All peoples in all countries need to conscientiously make the effort and really do something on a large, make that massive scale.
I live in Fiji and have found it very hard to recycle. The facilities just aren’t here. I am not sure why but am looking into it. Here on these beautiful tropical islands I can spend all day every day picking up trash from the beach and never make a dent. I find this very sad. People, no matter their ethnicity through their garbage in the ocean, it is almost as if they see it as their right.

If you have read this far then I ask a favor of you. If you see garbage on the ground pick it up and if you see someone throwing garbage on the ground say something. If you can recycle then do it and if the facilities are not available then find out why and try to get them available
If we all take these few steps it might actually put a dent in the excessive amount of garbage that is polluting our lives and the environment.